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Retribution/Force Commander/Strategy
This is written for patch 3.19.1 balance. Overview The Force Commamder is the most straightforward Space Marine hero to play. He has good damage and durability, anti-vehicle wargear, knockback immunity options, a teleport option, disruption, you name it. He has some support (buff) capacity, which is passive by nature, requiring no extra micro to use and not keeping him away from the fight. The FC is dangerous by himself and can synergies with pretty much any sort of army; In T1; just like every Space Marine player, you are buying a Tactical Marine squad. After that, popular option is going for an Assault Marine squad. You may prefer a second Tac. After all, there isn't a good reason to buy another Scout if you are not playing 1v1. Devastator Squad choice belongs to you. In T2; you should buy a Librarian. He will support your FC, Tac., ASM and in late games your Terminators. Also, because you like melee and brutal force, a Dreadnought might be an option. After the choice, you should start upgrading your army. If you have a lot of req, buy a Plasma Cannon and put it in mid to defend the victory point. In T3; the most popular choice is Assault Terminators. But, if you need a massive anti-vehicle, save your money to buy a Predator tank with lascannon. Battle Cry The starting ability of the FC, Battle Cry has three effects. First, he will do a special attack on every strike for 15 seconds. This is useful to disrupt blobs of enemies, although the specials won't "follow" moving enemies so it actually makes his strikes possible to dodge. This is not entirely a bad thing, because you can force one or more enemy units to stop shooting and run from your FC, while your Cry-buffed Tacs/Devs can keep pouring fire into them. If they try to stand still and fight, they will be chain-stunned by the FC's specials. The specials are especially good with the Thunder Hammer, which has a 360 degree special attack. Even with the starting weapon, they can wreck a T1 melee squad or just chain knockback a hero to win a duel. Second, the FC will be immune to all knockback. This can be useful when closing in (no Explosive Shot, Kinetic Pulse or Full Auto to hold you back) and of course while fighting, especially vs. other heroes, Banshees and such. It will also protect from plasma cannon and nuke knockback. Third, the initial casting will boost damage of nearby allies by 10% (15% with the Power Sword) and each melee strike activates the bonus again. This is significant, especially early on when your opponent has pretty much the same units - yours will be better for 15 seconds, giving an edge. 'Wargear' Power Sword An underused weapon (because of the T2 options), the Power Sword is an excellent T1 weapon that makes the FC kill expensive heavy infantry models and passively boost allied damage by 15% instead of 10% when using Battle Cry. This can mean an edge in T1 especially in mirrors. The only drawback is that come T2, the Thunder Hammer is an even better power weapon, or you might want the Power Fist. Chainsword and Storm Shield A defensive weapon that leaves the melee weapon as is, but boosts health by 200 and ranged damage resistance by 20% passively. Activating the ability grants an additional 50% ranged damage resistance and suppression immunity aura around the FC in exchange for a 35% reduction in speed. This is mainly a ranged blob/suppression counter, allowing the FC to spearhead your Tacticals and tank most of the damage. Unless massively outgunned, you should win most pure shoot-outs. Should work best with double Tactical builds. Thunder Hammer This weapon was long overshadowed by the Fist, but recently received a splash damage effect and is generally considered excellent, even overpowered. A blob disruption weapon, it does less damage to single targets than the Fist but also has a splash damage effect of 20 hp (power melee) in a 4 radius of the primary target. It additionally has a 15% chance of knocking back opponents, and the special attack is 360 degrees, making the Hammer shine with Battle Cry activated, since it causes massive disruption. A great upgrade overall, but the Power Fist is still better if you are expecting (or facing) a walker vehicle. Power Fist For long the most popular FC weapon, the Fist has a high power cost of but allows the FC to damage and stun vehicles. And it also has the highest damage vs. any Single target (it does slightly more than the Hammer even against heavy infantry). Usually the safest bet since it is anti-everything. But, you must be careful, its special attacks makes friendly fire. Artificer Armor A safe armor choice with passive bonuses, increases health and regeneration very well. Good for increased tackiness with Storm Shield or Iron Halo; some complain these combinations are even too strong. The armor is currently so cheap it's the cookie-cutter choice for most FC players. Still, if you want to have the speed like Alacrity, you may need Librarian support (Veil of Time). Armor of Alacrity Grants a sprint ability (short speed boost) which is good for closing in and chasing quick units. It allows you to lead the line and face the enemy quickly. Now you feel yourself like a boss. Used to be a very popular choice until Artificer Armor got a hefty price reduction. Uses energy, so doesn't synergise that well with Iron Halo. And no synergy with Teleporter Pack, even no reason to combine. Best choice is waiting until T3 and than a Sacred Standart. Terminator Armor See Force Commander Terminator/Strategy for analysis on this wargear. Iron Halo A popular accessory to get in T1, the Iron Halo or "bubble" absorbs 5 damage for 1 energy and grants knockback immunity. Makes the Force Commander very tanky and synergizes well with Artificer Armor. Currently very cheap and typically the first wargear for an FC player. Teleporter Pack A popular T2 accessory to go with either Power Fist or Thunder Hammer. Allows the Force Commander to appear in a ranged blob for some disruption or behind a tank for some rear armor punches. Can be used to counter setup weapon teams. A good ability, but the teleportation drains significant energy and has a long cooldown. Sacred Standard A popular T3 choice in case the FC didn't get Iron Halo or Teleporter earlier. This accessory grants a large passive damage boost to allied units. The effect is further improved if the FC gets incapacitated, so in team games some players actually suicide their hero for the massive +40% buff to get revived after the battle is won. Category:Retribution multiplayer unit subpages